No part of Brighton has had a more varied character than the Steine. From being the general depository of the materials of the aborigines, for fishing, it became the place of rendezvous for the nobility and gentry, the beaux and belles delighting to promenade there, expend their small talk, and listen to the strains of the military bands which daily played upon some portion of it. Even upon Sunday afternoons, so recently as twenty-three years since, the sounds of music attracted immense crowds of the inhabitants and visitors there. Frequent innovations, however, upon its space having taken place, and the southern walks along the whole front of the town, having, by their extension and commodiousness, become the fashionable resort, the Steine has quieted down to a thoroughfare that connects the east with the west portion of the town, and there is a contentment that it shall remain an important lung of the borough.
During the agitation for the Reform Bill, when self-esteemed politicians tried their ’prentice voice upon stump oratory, the Steine was the famous arena for their eloquence. Where now, on gala days, the triple rampant dolphins, which support on their entwined tails the basins of the fountain, belave themselves, a waggon has formed the vehicle for the conveyance of political sentiments under the guise of Toryism, Whigism, Chartism, or any other ism that the whim, rage, or fashion of the day has chanced to assume.
The most memorable event on the Steine was the dinner given there on the 3rd of September, 1830, to the children of the various charity schools in the town, to commemorate the first visit of William IV. and Queen Adelaide to Brighton. Their Majesties arrived on the previous Monday, great preparations having been made for their reception, triumphal arches and other erections forming emblems of rejoicing throughout the space from the extreme north of the town, on the London Road, to the entrance of the Pavilion Grounds. Probably, now, when there is so great a facility for the transmission of large masses of people by means of the railway, the numbers of persons who came into the town on the occasion, would be considered of little moment; but then the quantity was estimated as vast, vehicles of every description arriving in the town, heavily laden with human beings, not only from all parts of the county, but even the distance of two hundred miles was not considered too great to travel in order to witness the imposing sight. For more than a week prior to the appointed day, numbers of persons had arrived in the town to ensure being present; and lodgings of every description were seized with avidity, at—to use a commercial term—long prices. The stage coaches from London,—many of which were specially placed on the road to meet the demands,—were crowded to excess at extra fares; and the vans and spring waggons—as they were termed—nightly bore heavy freights of provisions to meet the anticipated rapid consumption.
Their Majesties arrived shortly after five o’clock, and were met by the High Constable, the Clergy, and a Committee of the principal inhabitants, the children of the various schools forming a line along the route through which the royal carriages passed. The waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies from the balconies, the shouts and huzzas of the people, the roaring of cannon, the ringing of bells, the music of various bands, the tramp of horses, the rattling of carriages, the floating of hundreds of flags and banners, formed altogether a spectacle that had never been previously, nor has it been since, equalled in Brighton. The crowning feature of the day was a structure in the form of a triumphal arch, which was of vast proportions, fifty feet in height, the opening of the arch having a span of twenty-five feet, and the whole was clothed with evergreens and flowers. The top was covered with a profusion of flags and streamers, from the Hyperion frigate, then stationed at Newhaven, in the midst of which flaunted the Standard of England. A body of sailors, belonging to the Coast Blockade service, dressed in blue jackets and white trousers, were arranged pyramidically on the top, and gave a crowning character to the spectacle, as they gave three hearty cheers for the “Sailor King.” They were seventy in number, supplied by Captain Mingaye, of the Hyperion. The structure was crowded with gaily dressed ladies, and the galleries of the archway were filled with the girls of Swan Downer’s Charity School, and those of the National School, who at that time wore green dresses and white mob caps. In the evening the town was one blaze of light from a general illumination.
The preparations for dining the children were completed by noon on Friday. Three rows of tables, with benches on each side, were ranged round the whole area of the southern division of the Steine, which at that time was one grass plot, to which the spectators were admitted by tickets. The centre of the lawn was left entirely open, no persons being allowed upon that portion except the committee of management and the bands of the Horse and Foot Guards. At the southern extremity of this open space was a capacious marquee, erected for the accommodation of their Majesties. The interior was laid out very tastefully, and refreshments were prepared. At its entrance waved the two large town flags, supported by two of the Committee in blue sashes. Across the pavement between the two divisions of the Steine a space was boarded off, as also, across the northern division, and thence to the private entrance of the Pavilion at the north end of the Steine. At this period posts and rails skirted the outer edge of the pavement around the whole of the Steine.
The spectators began to assemble on the pavement about one o’clock, at which time the whole circumference outside the fence was belted with carriages, some of which had taken up their position at an early hour in the morning. The parade of the children to the grounds was a most pleasing sight, their general cleanliness and their appearance of health and happiness, imparting a most gratifying charm to the scene. By two o’clock the whole of the children were seated, and the amphitheatre of the Steine, gradually rising from the children at the tables to the spectators that girted them, and then on to the carriages covered with persons, and beyond that the thousands which crowded the windows, balconies, and the very roofs of the houses that bound the Steine, afforded a spectacle far more imposing than the most vivid imagination can conceive.
Precisely at two o’clock, their Majesties, accompanied by the Princess Augusta, the Landgravine of Hesse Homburgh, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Sir Augustus and Lady D’Este, and others, came across from the Pavilion Grounds to the boarded-off avenue, where they were met by the High Constable, who had received His Majesty’s commands to escort the royal party to the festive scene, where they received the respects of the Magistrates, Clergy, and Gentry. Having surveyed the scene for some time, their Majesties and suite passed along the line close to the children, frequently returning the salutations of the people with the utmost affability and condescension. Having returned to the entrance, their Majesty’s bowed to the vast assemblage and withdrew, attended by their royal relatives. At that moment the regimental bands struck up the National Anthem, and shouts simultaneously burst from every lip. Even the children, whose eyes only, as yet, had been feasted, rose and mingled their shrill voices with the harmony of throats.
It was calculated that more than 60,000 persons were present to view the feeding of the youthful multitude, who, immediately on the Grace having been said by the Rev. H. M. Wagner—Vicar,—were supplied with an unlimited quantity of roast and boiled beef and plum pudding by the numerous carvers who had volunteered their services, lady waitresses with the utmost alacrity attending most assiduously upon the youthful guests. It was an occasion that formed an epoch in the life of every person present. On the occasion of the first visit of Queen Victoria to Brighton, October 4th, 1837, a similar banquet was given to the children upon the Steine.
The most celebrated public buildings of the Steine were the libraries, which were the principal resort of the visitors. The first library here was instituted by Mr. Woodgate, at the southern extremity, on the premises at present occupied by Mr. Shaw, confectioner, and others, contiguous to the York Hotel, where also was the Post Office. Mr. Woodgate was succeeded by Miss Widget, who resigned it to Mr. Bowen; after whom came Mr. Crawford, and, lastly, Mr. F. G. Fisher.
The other library was that of Mr. Thomas, after whom was Mr. Dudlow, who was succeeded by Mr. James Gregory, whose successor, Mr. Donaldson, resigned the establishment to Mr. Thomas Lucombe. Mr. Donaldson pulled down the original low building in 1806, and erected the present structure, which has however, since the carriage road has been formed in front of it, been much modernized to suit the various businesses to which the premises have been devoted.